MPR News shakes up its radio schedule, will launch new shows
MPR News is making changes to its daily radio schedule to make room for new programs.
The 91.1 FM radio station announced Tuesday it is launching a new, daily Minnesota news magazine program and a weekly show dedicated to books and ideas.
The upcoming changes involve popular hosts Cathy Wurzer, Kerri Miller and Angela Davis as MPR News' continues its "strategy to invest in programming that meets the changing needs of its audiences," a news release says.
“We are here not only to connect with Minnesota, but also to better connect Minnesota with itself,” MPR President Duchesne Drew said in a statement. “We’re being intentional about putting our resources behind the news programming that helps us achieve that goal.”
Here are the details:
— Wurzer, the longtime MPR News Morning Edition host, will host a second daily news show on MPR on weekdays at noon. The new program, which will launch Sept. 7, is a magazine program focused on the news of the day through a Minnesota lens.
"What a gift to be given an hour to create a show that reflects all of Minnesota and goes beyond the day’s news to include segments on arts and culture, music, history and life in our state,” said Wurzer. “Listen at noon, and you’ll learn things about Minnesota you didn’t know before."
As a result, MPR News Presents, which airs weekdays at noon, won't air as often. The release says the program will "continue to air on an occasional basis, determined by schedule availability and program content."
— Miller will end her time as host of MPR News with Kerri Miller, which airs on weekdays at 9 a.m., on Aug. 6 to become the host of a new hour-long program that will air at 11 a.m. on Fridays.
Miller will be using her "passion for literature, politics, science and history" on the new program, which will feature a conversation with a different author each week, the release says. The program debuts on Sept. 10.
— Angela Davis, who joined MPR News in 2018, will take over the 9 a.m. weekday timeslot on Sept. 7, with her show, MPR News with Angela Davis, moving from the 11 a.m. hour.
"I’m eager to get started on this new opportunity for MPR News with Angela Davis,” said Davis. “Kerri has built a devoted audience at 9 a.m., and I’m looking forward to building on that and inviting more Minnesotans to join the conversation about our lives as Minnesotans, as many of us resume our morning routines and commutes.”
MPR News Director of Programing Stephanie Curtis said these changes align Wurzer, Miller and Davis' teams' "tremendous skills" with MPR News' "vision for serving our audiences, our communities and our state in new ways."
